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@donavabdear

Welcome to the forum, when you have time could you post your "virtual system" in your profile? The placebo effect can extend to anything, not just audio. Many dealers today offer 30-60 day trials so the bad dealers can’t hope to compete in the world of solid return policies. I think the vast majority of dealers are ethical and want to provide value. I have no problem with dropping $$$ on cables or whatever. I have HUGE problems on spending even a dollar on gear without addressing the room. If there is audiophile kryptonite I would say it is acoustic treatments (or lack of) rather than what gear costs.

@donavabdear 

The amps in powered speakers are designed for the speaker at a specific price point.  They aren’t necessarily the best amp for the speaker.  In the same way that a passive speaker with a better amp can sound better than an active version of the same speaker with lesser amps.

I think the one issue not addressed in responses is controlling [driver] phase to create a phase linear system.  Phase control is not possible in the passive or the outboard amp active system (unless you have a very sophisticated line level crossover with phase controls on each band, which I have not seen outside of DSP crossovers).  It always requires careful measurement to be able to accurately adjust phase.  Therefore, phase linearity is one attribute of an active system that is hard to compete with. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against passive, its not shite, it can sound very very good indeed, It's just that active has so many positives that seem so poorly understood in the audiophile community.  It's like there is this feeling of "I'll give you my outboard amp when you pry it from my cold dead fingers!"   It's a little odd when the science on this is not new or controversial and the sonics are obvious to anyone whose has tried like for like. 

The anecdotal evidence I read in this forum doesn't really compare active vs passive, like for like. Its usually comparison one brand to another with other differences that are not explained.  Granted a proper demo is extremely difficult to pull off, maybe impossible.  I've done it because I have the same speakers in active and passive and the same amps built by the same company.  Not everyone hears the difference, like my wife, so tis not black and white.  But it certainly is as significant a difference as one cable vs another., one CD player to another, one DAC to another.   Maybe sometime I'll invite you all to Las Vegas to hear this comparison.  Or maybe we'll do this demo at AXPONA next time and have a party doing it!. 

Brad

I have the exact same speaker in both versions, the Paradigm Reference Studio 20 v2 and the Paradigm Active 20 v2. I hooked up the Studio 20’s in a biamp configuration to a Carver 505 5 channel amp (two channels driving L and two channels driving R) . I used quality speaker cables, set them up and they really sounded good, wide open soundstage from wall to wall.

When compared to the actives it feels you can drive the actives at lower volumes to achieve the same effect of being enveloped in sound. The bass extended down to 54hz in the passive, 36 hz in the active. The bass just doesn’t extend lower, it has a tight authority that really sings when you crank it. No mush, no softness, just a tight bass that drives along with the song with seemingly no effort. The tweeters seem to sing a little more effortlessly as well. If you didn’t hear them side by side you would be happy with the passive. After hearing the active the passive seems like drinking cold coffee compared to a steaming hot cup.

passive 20 specs

active 20 specs

http://www.cain.cainslair.com/Paradigm%20Reference%20Active%20Series%20Specifications.htm

Congrats on your 23 speakers.